at-home
Americannoun
adjective
noun
-
another name for open day
-
a social gathering in a person's home
-
In one's own residence, town, or country. For example, Mary was not at home when I called , or Tourists in a foreign country often behave more rudely than they do at home . This idiom was first recorded in a ninth-century treatise.
-
Ready to receive a visitor, as in We are always at home to our neighbor's children . This usage gave rise to the noun at-home , meaning a reception to which guests are invited on a specific day at specific hours (also see open house ). [c. 1600]
-
Also, at home with . Comfortable and familiar, as in Mary always makes us feel at home , or I've never been at home with his style of management . [Early 1500s] Also see at ease , def. 1.
-
Also, at home with . Proficient, well-versed in, as in Young John is so much at home with numbers that he may well become a mathematician , or Chris is really at home in French . [Late 1700s]
-
In team sports, playing on one's own field or in one's own town. For example, The Red Sox always do better at home than they do at away games .
Etymology
Origin of at-home
First recorded in 1740–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Before streaming platforms dominated at-home entertainment, consumers relied on places like Blockbuster, the now nearly erased movie rental chain and RedBox, the defunct movie vending machines, to watch newly released films.
From Los Angeles Times
She points to the increase in accessibility of at-home fermentation, fermentation programs at culinary school and cabbage varieties available at the local farmer’s markets in New York City.
From Salon
Another way to make an at-home night feel like an occasion is to splurge, just a little, on the ingredients you bring into the house.
From Salon
One of the simplest ways to make an at-home dinner feel special is to expand the scope of the meal.
From Salon
It caused a commercial and cultural sensation that created demand for the at-home arcade experience Baer had just developed.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.